NUS Student Experience Report - National Union of … Student Experience Report 2008 Funded and conducted in association with: NUS Introduction Welcome to the first NUS Student Experience

Funded and conducted in association with: Research conducted by:

NUS StudentExperienceReport

1Student Experience Report 2008Funded and conducted in association with:

NUS IntroductionWelcome to the first NUS Student Experience Report.This document provides an overview of students'experiences across the UK, looking at all areas of theirlives, from the quality of their courses andaccommodation, to their financial situations andexperience of employment.

I particularly want to thank HSBC for funding theresearch and working so closely with us to make thisreport a reality. We believe that this research providesa real insight into the daily experiences of students.

This report looks at full-time undergraduate homestudents and provides some interesting analysis andevidence, which reinforces many of NUS' keyarguments and concerns. For example, thosestudents who undertake paid employment work onaverage 14 hours a week during term-time and manystudents significantly under-estimate their basic livingcosts. It is however pleasing that 75% of students saythey are enjoying their experience and 85% ofstudents rate their teaching and learning experienceas either good or excellent.

One of the key objectives within NUS' Strategic Plan isenabling students to shape their learning experienceand so whilst it is heartening that 57% of studentswanted to be involved in shaping the content,curriculum or design it is disappointing that only 23%of students currently feel involved. It is important thatthis student engagement and representation is basedon evidence and we believe that this report will play akey role in this and exploring in greater depth some ofthe issues raised by the National Student Survey.

I would also like to thank GfK Financial for carrying outthe research and bringing together the final report.Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to all of thesector agencies that contributed to shaping theoriginal survey questions to ensure that we were bothlooking at genuinely new information and making auseful contribution to the debate in the sector.

I hope that this report will make a useful contributionon behalf of students towards the Secretary of State'sdebate on the future of higher education.

Wes StreetingNational President, NUS

HSBC IntroductionHSBC is very pleased to be working with the NationalUnion of Students in conducting this ongoing researchinto the lives and experiences of students at university.

We know that it is very important for us to understandstudents' financial requirements, but it is just asimportant for us to understand the whole spectrum ofa student's life at university, so that we can adjust theproducts we provide to suit their needs and moreimportantly so that we can provide a service that theywill benefit from.

HSBC has been working with the NUS as part of itsongoing financial literacy programme to improvefinancial education in schools and higher educationand looks forward to working with the NUS in theyears to come.

Lucy Payne

HSBC Youth, Students and Graduates Manager

Introductions

2

Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

1 INTRODUCTION & METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

2 CHOOSING UNIVERSITY AND COURSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

3 QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF TEACHING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

3.1 Contact hours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103.2 Who provides contact? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

4 PERSONALISATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

5 COURSEWORK & FEEDBACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

5.1 How students receive feedback on their coursework . . . . . . . . . .165.2 Student attitudes towards coursework feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175.3 Length of time taken to receive coursework feedback . . . . . . . . .18

6 ACCOMMODATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

7 FACILITIES AND RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

8 STUDENT WELFARE SERVICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

9 BULLYING, SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND SAFETY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

9.1 Bullying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259.2 Sexual Harassment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269.3 Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

10 FINANCES, DEBT AND COST OF LIVING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

10.1 Cost of Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2710.2 Groceries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2810.3 Level of concern about financial situation at university . . . . . . . . .2910.4 Sources of funding whilst at university . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

11 STUDENT EMPLOYMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

11.1 Student earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3311.2 Motivations for working . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3311.3 Impact of paid employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

12 POST-COURSE PLANS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

12.1 Final-year students post-course plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3512.2 Careers advice - does it meet needs? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3612.3 How students feel their studies have affected future employment 3712.4 How have studies improved students’ skills? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

13 OVERALL FEELINGS ABOUT UNIVERSITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Funded and conducted in association with:

• Motivation for going to university - the researchsuggests that many students see university as ameans to an end, rather than an end in itself, with only29 per cent of students saying that their main reasonfor wanting to go to university was “for theexperience”.

• Choosing their university - 31 per cent ofstudents choose their university because it is close tohome. However, looking at this by socio-economicgroup, only 22 per cent of socio-economic group Agave this reason compared with 53 per cent fromsocio-economic group DE.

• Key influences for wanting to go to university -the key influences cited by students are also affectedby socio-economic group: 27 per cent of students insocio-economic group A cite their parents,grandparents or guardian as their key influence inwanting to go to university, compared with only six percent of students in socio-economic group DE.Conversely, only two per cent of students in socio-economic group A cite their teachers as the keyinfluence, compared with 13 per cent of those insocio-economic group DE.

• The main reasons for choosing a university - 45per cent of students at Russell Group universities (anassociation of 20 of the UK's leading research-intensive universities) say that one of the top threereasons for choosing their university was because it“had the subject/course I wanted”, this compares with71 per cent at Post-1992 universities (institutions thatachieved university status after the 1992 Further andHigher Education Act). Some 81 per cent of studentsat Russell Group universities say that one of the topthree reasons for choosing their university was the“academic reputation of the university”, comparedwith 58 per cent at Pre-1992 universities and 24 percent at Post-1992 universities.

• Quality and quantity of teaching - 85 per cent ofstudents rate the quality of teaching and learning asgood or excellent. Students receive 15 contact hoursa week on average, although this varies by institutionand subject. In addition, students spend 16 hours a

week on private study. Three-quarters (75 per cent) ofstudents believe that their contact hours are sufficient.There are some interesting differences in contacthours for subjects when looked at by type ofinstitution - students studying physical sciences andrelated subjects receive 20 contact hours a week inPre-1992 universities and 15 hours a week in Post-1992 universities. In addition, students studying masscommunications and documentation subjects receiveseven contact hours a week in Russell Groupuniversities, compared with 14 hours a week in Post-1992 universities.

• Personalisation - 92 per cent of students aregiven the opportunity to provide feedback about theircourse, yet only 51 per cent of these students believethis feedback is acted on. While only 23 per cent ofstudents feel involved in shaping the content,curriculum or design of their course, 57 per centwould welcome such involvement.

• Coursework and feedback - only 25 per cent ofstudents receive individual verbal feedback on theirassessments, compared with 71 per cent who wantindividual verbal feedback. A quarter (25 per cent) ofstudents have to wait more than five weeks forfeedback on their coursework.

• Accommodation - 84 per cent of students arehappy with their accommodation. A small majority ofstudents - 55 per cent - are happy with the choice ofaccommodation offered by their institution, howeverthis is significantly affected by type of university.Around 19 per cent of students say that they live attheir parents' home.

• Facilities and resources - students are leastsatisfied by the facilities available for practical work,with only 54 per cent saying that these type of facilitiesmeet their needs.

• Student welfare services - 81 per cent ofstudents say that the academic support at theiruniversity partly or fully meets their needs.

• Bullying, sexual harassment and safety - sevenper cent of students say that they have experienced

3Student Experience Report 2008

Executive summary

Student Experience Report 2008

bullying but 71 per cent did not report it to theuniversity, usually because they did not know who toreport it to. Some 12 per cent of students haveexperienced crime while at university.

• Finance, debt and the cost of living - studentssignificantly underestimate their basic living costs, by39 per cent for their groceries and 35 per cent forroutine travel. Just over a third (34 per cent) ofstudents are “more than somewhat concerned” abouttheir current levels of debt.

• Student employment - 75 per cent of studentsundertake paid employment while at university, eitherduring term time (35 per cent) or during the holidays(51 per cent). Almost half (46 per cent) of workingstudents are reliant on paid employment to fund theirbasic living expenses. The more hours a studentworks during term time, the greater the negativeimpact on their academic study.

• Post-course plans - 46 per cent of students planto enter permanent full-time employment and 34 percent plan look for work. Only six per cent say that theyhave no idea what their plans are after studying.Among final-year students, 40 per cent say that thecareers advice provided by their university has mettheir needs, with 21 per cent saying it hasn't. Overall,71 per cent of students feel that their studies enhancetheir career prospects.

• Overall feelings about university - 74 per cent ofstudents say that they are enjoying university. Amongthose who aren't, the two key reasons given are: thequality of teaching and the level of debt/concernsabout the cost of university. The large majority (85 percent) of students are pleased that they decided to goto university - 56 per cent saying they are “extremelypleased”. If students had additional funding toallocate at their university, 37 per cent say they wouldspend this on teaching or learning facilities.

4


Executive summary

1 Introduction and methodologyThis report discusses the findings from a programmeof research, carried out between May and November2008, into UK students' expectations and experiencesof university. The research looked at a variety of areas,including accommodation, finances, assessment,teaching and resources.

The research programme comprised both quantitativeand qualitative approaches, which were combined toensure both depth and breadth within the findings.The quantitative research consisted of an onlinequestionnaire, which ran between 2-24 June 2008. Atotal of 3,135 students from 146 higher educationinstitutions took part in the survey, fulfilling a variety ofquotas including gender, ethnicity, socio-economicstatus and course type to ensure the results wererepresentative. This was followed up with a small-scale online survey of 250 school leavers who hadbeen offered a place at a higher education institution.This second survey ran between 17-28 July 2008.

The qualitative research consisted of two phases. Inthe first phase, six focus groups were conducted inJune 2008 in four universities - Winchester, Reading,Leeds and Coventry - selected to represent thedifferent types of institution within the UK system.Focus group participants covered all years of study,and incorporated a range of course types. The focusgroups were complemented by the second phase, aset of 12 in-depth interviews using an ethnographicapproach carried out in November 2008. These alsocovered all years of study and a range of coursetypes.

GfK Financial IntroductionGfK Financial is part of the GfK Group, one of the topfive market research companies worldwide. Based inLondon, GfK Financial works closely with HSBC - thesponsor of this report - across many different researchprojects.

We are delighted to be working with HSBC as itsponsors this investigation into the lives andexperiences of students at universities.

Nick Watkins

Managing Director, GfK Financial


1 Introduction and methodology

2 Choosing a universiity and courseWhen students were asked for the main reasons theywanted to go to university, the most popularresponses were: “to gain qualifications” (68 per cent),“to improve my chances of getting a job” (53 percent), and “to improve my earning potential” (44 percent).

The research suggests that students can fit into one offour basic segments that relate to their motivations forchoosing to attend university. These segments are notmutually exclusive - there tends to be a degree ofoverlap:

• Academics: focus on learning and gainingacademic skills, likely to go on to do a postgraduatedegree. Main reasons for wanting to go to universitywere “to stretch me intellectually” or “to learncritically”.

• Next steppers: have a clear career goal andchoose a degree with that in mind. In the survey, theytypically chose their course “as course is required formy intended career”.

• Option openers: do not necessarily have a cleargoal, although they may have a vague idea of anindustry that interests them. Option openers tend toselect a course they believe they will enjoy and are

more likely to be good at. This group typically wantedto attend university to “learn about interestingsubjects”.

• Toe dippers: primarily attracted to university forthe lifestyle/living experience but, similar to Optionopeners, hope to have more opportunities presentedto them afterwards by having obtained a degree. Thisgroup, when asked in the survey about reasons foruniversity selection, answered either “to have a goodsocial life”, “to participate in sport/societies”, or “allmy friends were going”.

The research also indicates that many students seeuniversity as a means to an end, rather than an end initself. For example, only 29 per cent of students saythat one of the main reasons for them wanting to go touniversity is ”for the experience”. This valuable livingexperience includes: moving away from home; livingindependently; meeting new people; and building newrelationships and networks to potentially support,share and enhance their learning experience. Therewere similar responses when school leavers wereasked for their main reasons for wanting to go touniversity; the most popular responses were again: “togain qualifications” (68 per cent), “to improve mychances of getting a job” (44 per cent), and “toimprove my earning potential” (45 per cent).

6


2 Choosing a university and course

Base: All answering section 1 (630)

Academics 22% (141)

Option openers 19% (121)

Toe dippers 9% (57)Next steppers 60% (379)

Motivations for attending university

However, these results are significantly influenced byinstitution type. Interestingly, students who attendPost-1992 institutions are much more likely to bemotivated to go to university to gain a qualification, orimprove their earning potential, than those attendingeither Russell Group or Pre-1992 institutions - seechart 1. In addition, students attending either RussellGroup or Pre-1992 institutions are significantly morelikely to want to go to university “for the experience”.In part this may be explained by differences in socio-economic status, as students who attend Pre-1992,and particularly Russell Group institutions, aresignificantly more likely to be from higher socio-economic groups.

Across all segments, students' university selection isgenerally driven by “the course I wanted” (63 percent). The academic reputation of the university isalso a key influence (47 per cent). Next steppers areusually more likely to select an institution that is wellregarded in their particular subject of interest, hopingthat attendance will reflect well on their CV andimpress potential employers.

A large number of students (31 per cent) weremotivated to choose their university because it wasclose to home. This is influenced by socio-economicstatus; students in the lowest socio-economicgrouping, DE, were significantly more likely to choosea university based on the geographical proximity tohome than students in all other socioeconomicgroups - see chart 2.

Institution type can also be seen to have a significantimpact on the reasons students choose theiruniversity. As can be seen in chart 3, students whoattend Russell Group institutions were more likely tohave been motivated by the academic reputation ofthe university. In contrast, students who attend eitherPost-1992 or other institutions were more likely to havechosen their university because it had the course theywanted.

Course selection is often decided at an early stage,during sixth form. When students were asked for themain reasons for choosing their course the mostpopular responses were: “course content matches myinterests” (89 per cent), “course leads to my intendedcareer” (60 per cent), and “course is well regarded bypotential employers” (41 per cent). Again, there weresimilar responses when school leavers were asked thesame question. The vast majority (90 per cent) ofschool leavers say that the main reason for choosingtheir course was that “the course content matchedtheir interests”, and 54 per cent say that the “courseleads to my intended career”. There would thereforeseem to be a slight change in emphasis whencomparing the reasons for students and schoolleavers wanting to go to university with their reasonsfor choosing their course. When choosing theircourse, students and school leavers seem more


68

53

44

29

62

48

3835

62

55

44

34

73

5249

23

76

63

34 32

%

To gainqualifications

TotalRussell GroupPre-1992Post-1992Other institutions

Improve mychances of getting

a job

Improve myearning potential

For the experience

Chart 1: Reasons for wanting to go to university Q1: What were the main reasons for wanting to go to univeristy?Please indicate your top three reasons.

Base: All first-year students (630), Russell Group (143), Pre-1992 (161), Post-1992 (287), Other institutions (38*) *small base.

22

31 31

53

30

%

ABC1C2DE

Chart 2: Socio-economic group of students choosing a university close to home Q3: What were the main reasons for choosing your university?Please indicate your top three reasons.

Base: All first-year students (630), A (100), B (157), C1 (132), C2 (68*), DE (68*)*small base

Close to home

motivated by personal interests, and not just how wella course will prepare them for future employment.

Students and school leavers get information aboutgoing to university from a variety of places. By far themost popular information sources are universities'websites, which 78 per cent of students and 85 percent of school leavers used, and UCAS, which 70 percent of students and 72 per cent of school leaversused. Some 44 per cent of students say they usedtheir teachers to get information, which could be seenas quite low. Interestingly, this number is much higheramong school leavers, with 62 per cent saying thatthey got information from teachers.

There is also an interesting contrast between theproportion of students stating that they got informationabout going to university from friends and siblings (32per cent), and those who got information from parentsor guardians (22 per cent). This indicates that friendsare a more valuable resource than might be expected,and certainly appear to be more important thanparents. This is however affected by socio-economicgroup; when asked who or what was the key influenceon their decision to go to university, those in highersocio-economic groups were significantly more likelyto cite their parents as the key influence, while thosein lower socio-economic groups were more likely tostate their teachers or friends and siblings - seechart 4.

Key information sources used by students goingthrough the university selection process can be saidto be either 'objective' or 'subjective'. Although bothare used equally, students regard the 'objective'sources, namely internet and web-based forums (setup to rate universities) and broadsheet newspapers asmore reliable. Other sources such as teachers, family,peers, open days, university brochures andprospectuses while regarded as 'subjective' andhaving bias, still exert a significant influence over theselection process.

University paper and web-based brochures andprospectuses, while heavily reliedupon, can be viewed with somesuspicion for being subjective andvery 'sales and marketing'focused. They can be seen aspromoting the more favourableaspects of the university, coursesand local area and hiding the lessfavourable aspects (eg the highcost of rented accommodation in the local area).

Students appear to receive a vast quantity ofinformation relating to their choice of university. Thisinformation appears heavily weighted towardspractical and general subjects, such asaccommodation and financial support. However, thisinformation is not as tailored as it could be - students

8


2 Choosing a university and course

%45

61

71

79

Had the subject/course I wanted

Academicreputation of the

university

Close to home Suitable entryrequirements

Russell GroupPre-1992Post-1992Other institutions

Chart 3: Reasons for choosing specific university Q3: What were the main reasons for choosing your university?Please indicate your top three reasons.

Base: All first-year students (630), Russell Group (143), Pre-1992 (161), Post-1992 (287), Other institutions (38*) *small base.

81

58

24

39

1924

4139

9

17

28 26

27

1920

13

1513

12

6

9

2

555 56

% ABC1C2DE

Chart 4: Key influence on deciding to go to university Q7: Who or what was the key influence on your decision to go to university? Please select one answer only.

Base: All first-year students (630), A (100), B (157), C1 (132), C2 (68*), DE (68*) *small base

Parents / granparents /guardian

Friends / siblings Teachers

“It [the prospectus]just touched on thecourse you wantedto do and it onlygave [a] biasedview of what it wasactually like.”

Third-year BSc

often feel they spend a lot of timesifting through less usefulinformation to source theinformation they want. Course-specific information liketimetables or contact hours isalso less commonly received -see chart 5 - but actually desiredby students.

When asked what additional information they wouldhave liked to receive, some of the most popularresponses related to course-specific information. Forexample, a course timetable was the most popularresponse (41 per cent), followed by a reading list (30per cent). Having said this, 41 per cent of studentsresponded “none, I received all the information Iwanted”, suggesting that a lack of information is notsignificant problem for students starting university.There were similar results among school leavers - 40per cent say they would have liked to receive atimetable and 29 per cent a reading list. However themost popular answer was again “none, I received allthe information I wanted”, which was the response of42 per cent of school leavers.

A minority of students within our sample, who havehad a bad experience with accommodation orproblems coping with living expenses, express an

interest in receiving more practical and living-basedinformation before starting university. However, there isa danger of overloading students with far too muchinformation, and any advice or assistance relating tofinance should be engaging and easy to digest.Hearing about other students' experiences living awayfrom home and how they plan their finances isconsidered the easiest and most relevant form ofcommunicating these messages.

Open days are particularly useful for giving students aflavour of what to expect in terms of their learning andliving experiences, but inevitably students tend toagree that it is difficult to envisage what university lifewill be like until they experience it for themselves.Where students have seen older siblings or friends livethrough the experience, unsurprisingly theirexpectations tend to be more closely linked to theiractual experiences. They are also more likely to feelbetter prepared and have made more realisticfinancial plans and provisions.

3 Quality and quantity of teachingThe vast majority of students (85 per cent) rated thequality of their teaching and learning experience as“good or excellent”, however this is significantlyaffected by a number of factors. As can be seen inchart 6 below, first-year students are significantly morelikely to rate the quality of teaching as “good toexcellent” than final-year students.


3 Quality and quantity of teaching

“The Times andthe Guardianalways have a littlesupplement ... ithas negative pointsas well as positivepoints, which theprospectus doesn’thave.”

First-year BA

%

86

74

69

65

60

55

37

27

26

23

23

22

19

17

Accommodation options and costsSources of financial supportand application procedures

Students’ union

Course content

Student advice and guidance services

Social/cultural/sporting activities/clubs

Reading lists

Disability/dyslexia support

Materials/supplies requirements

Course timetable

Quantity of teaching/contact hours

Private/individual study requirements

Quality of teachingCourse marking scheme including exams

and other assessment procedures

Chart 5: Information received before starting courseQ8: What information did you receive from your university before startingyour course? Please select all that apply.

Base: All first-year students (630)

%88

85 83

First-yearOther yearFinal year

Chart 6: How students in different years rate quality of teaching and learning experience Q12: How would you rate the quality of the teaching and learningexperience?

Net proportion of respondents rating the quality of the teachingand learning experience as good to excellent.

Base: All answering section 2 (2,374), first-year (647), other year (1,176), final year (551).

How students rate the quality ofteaching is also significantlyinfluenced by subject area,although there do not appear tobe any trends between differentdisciplines. Historical andphilosophical studies received thehighest proportion of studentsrating the quality of teaching as“good to excellent” (93 per cent).Languages (89 per cent), medicaland life sciences (88 per cent),physical sciences (88 per cent)and law (87 per cent) were alsorated “good to excellent” by ahigh proportion of students. Thesubject that received the lowestproportion of students rating thequality of teaching as “good toexcellent” was architecture (70per cent).

When looked at by institution type, a significantdifference appears; students at either Russell Groupinstitutions or Pre-1992 institutions are much morelikely to rate the quality of the teaching and thelearning experience as “good to excellent”, comparedwith students who attend Post-1992 institutions orother institutions - see chart 7.

3.1 Contact hoursOn average, university students receive a total of 15contact hours a week. In addition to these contacthours, students spend an average of 16 hours a weekon private study. The majority of contact hours areprovided through lectures, which account for anaverage of eight hours per week.

The number of contact hours that students receive, aswell as the number of hours spent on private study,are both significantly influenced by subject area,institution type and year of study. The most significantdifferences occur by subject area - students studyingmedical and life sciences and physical sciences havethe most contact hours - see chart 8. At the other endof the scale, students studying languages or historicaland philosophical studies get the least contact hours.Most of this difference appears to be explained by theaverage number of lecture hours that studentsreceive.

The qualitative work found that those studying medicaland physical sciences tend to have the lowestexpectations in terms of contact hours. Students ofthese disciplines often have an expectation of more

10


3.1 Contact hours

%

89 8882 83


Net proportion of respondents rating the quality of theteaching and learning experience as good to excellent

Chart 7: How students rate the quality of teaching and the learning experience Q12: How would you rate the quality of teaching and learning experience?

Base: All answering section 2 (2,374), Russell Group (597), Pre-1992 (598), Post-1992 (1,018), Other institutions (160).

Medicine and life sciences

Physical sciences and related

Architecture, building and planning

Social studies

Law

Business and administrative studies

Mass communications and documentation

Languages

Historical and philisophical studies

Creative arts and design

Education

Average number of contacthours a week

Average lecture hours

Average interactive group teachingsessions/tutorial hours

Average individual teachingsession hours

Contact hours with personal tutor

Other hours (such as drop-in sessions)

Base: All answering section 2 (2,374).

%19

105

11

2

1811

41

12

Chart 8: Contact hours by subject areaQ15: On average, how many contact hours a week do you have at this stage of your course andhow are these split into: lectures; interactive group teaching sessions/tutorials, individual teaching sessiosn/tutorials?

145

4

12

2

12

13

7

7

30

0

00

1

14

137

4111

135

43

1

1

10

44

0

00

95

30

01

1

11

134

4

136

601

0

autonomous and text-based learning, and a far moredistanced relationship from the lecturers themselves.These lower expectations lead to a far more satisfyingstudent experience.

When we compare the number of contact hours bysubject area with the number ofprivate study hours, notsurprisingly a trend appearswhereby students studying adiscipline with more contacthours are likely to spend lesstime on private study, and visaversa. This association isparticularly strong for studentstaking languages, law,architecture, historical andphilosophical studies or creativearts and design - see chart 9.

Students generally accept therole of private study, and whilethey find the process ofautonomous learning difficultthey do find it satisfying. Thissaid, most students express aneed for a form of structure ordeadline to ensure they work

effectively during this private time. Indeed, most lookto existing structured learning to find cues for theirprivate study, by looking at reading lists or referencesfrom lecture materials. Virtual learning environmentshave become a particularly useful tool for studentslooking for cues in private study. This is less true ofthe Academics, who tend to look for their own materialand are far more active in establishing their ownprivate study routine.

The amount of time spent on private study differs foreach of the four groups. Academics and Optionopeners are significantly more likely to spend moretime on private study than both Next steppers and Toedippers. While it is not surprising that Toe dippers arenot the most diligent, the lower level of private studydone by Next steppers may suggest that studentsusing university as a means to an end may struggle alittle to motivate themselves to study.

Interestingly, the number of contact hours thatstudents receive a week, as well as the number ofhours they spend on private study, are significantlyinfluenced by their year of study. First-year students,


Extracts from colleges on learning expectations – 1and 2 from BSc students, 3 and 4 from BA students.

1 2

3 4




Social studies

Law



Languages



Education

Average numberof contact hoursa week

Number of hoursa week spent onprivate study


%

1915

1815

14

1214

1319

1314

1311

1017

918

1813

1313

20

Chart 9: Average weekly contact and private study hoursQ15: On average, how many contact hours a week do you have at this stage of your course and how are these split into: lectures; interactive group teaching sessions/tutorials, individual teaching sessiosn/tutorials?Q18: In addition to contact hours, how many hours a week do you spend on private study?

or those in a year other than their first or final year, aresignificantly more likely to receive more contact hoursa week than final-year students - see chart 10. Whenthis is broken down by the type of contact, it is clearthat the main influence is the difference in the averagenumber of lecture hours received by students indifferent years of study. First-year students, andstudents in their intermediate years, also receive morecontact hours through interactive teaching sessionsthan final-year students. In contrast, the reverse istrue of private study hours; final-year students aresignificantly more likely to spend longer on privatestudy than first-year students.

Institution type can also be seen to influence bothcontact hours and private study hours significantly -see chart 11. Students who attend Russell Groupinstitutions or Pre-1992 institutions are significantlymore likely to receive more contact hours thanthose attending Post-1992 institutions or otherinstitutions. Again, this appears to be driven by theaverage number of lecture hours received bystudents. Despite this, students who attend a Post-1992 institution are likely to receive significantlymore interactive group/tutorial hours than studentswho attend either Pre-1992 or Russell Group

institutions. This would seem to indicate thatdifferences in contact hours are not just about theactual quantity, but also the type of contact offeredby different institutions. Students at Russell Groupinstitutions are significantly more likely to spendlonger on private study than students who attendeither Pre-1992 or Post-1992 institutions.

When the data on contact hours is split by subjectarea, a number of significant differences appear -see chart 12. However, it is difficult to discern anyoverall trend between the contact hours and subjectareas among different types of institution.

When looking at the different forms of contact,students have clear ideas of what makes thesehours more or less effective. In lectures, active andinformal experiences are favoured, with studentsbeing encouraged to interact with the materialthrough incomplete handouts and problem sheets.

12


3.1 Contact hours

%16 15

11

14

15

19

98

65

43

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1


Chart 10: Contact hours by year of study Q15: On average, how many contact hours a week do you have at this stage of your course and how are these split into: lectures; interactive group teaching sessions/tutorials, individual teaching sessiosn/tutorials?

Ave

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Base: All answering section 2 (2,374), first-year (647), other year (1,176), final year (551).

%16

17 17

15 1515

14 14

9 9

7

4

1 1 1 1 12 2

0

4 4 4

7

Chart 11: Weekly contact hours by institution type Q15: On average, how many contact hours a week do you have at this stage of your course and how are these split into: lectures; interactive group teaching sessions/tutorials, individual teaching sessiosn/tutorials?

1 1 1 1



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“Today I had a lecture from 9am to 11am. The first halfwas merely sitting listening to the lecturer read offslideshows ... a different lecturer for the second half,who was much better, involved the students andpaused so people had time to note down importantthings.”

Extract from a student blog First-year BSc

More rigid lectures, where information is conveyed in aless interactive manner, are seen as far less effective.Students view them as an ineffective use of time, astheir recall of the subject matter is poor following thelecture. Students also feel they could achieve a similarlevel of learning from the lecture materials. Beyond thepedagogical effectiveness, students are particularlypositive about lecturers who manage to convey theirenthusiasm for a subject area, captivating andengaging the students, and inspiring them to discussand research the topic area.

Seminars and workshops are more universally wellreceived, mainly due to their inherently interactivenature. Students find them particularly effective whenthey immediately follow a lecture - theseminar/workshop being based on the lecturecontent. These provide a timetabled environment inwhich students are able to have interactive contactwith staff, when any queries or concerns about thecontent are in the front of their mind.

It often appears that students expect to have a similarteaching environment to that which they encounteredin secondary school and sixth form, but the findingssuggest this is not necessarily the case. Studentsseem to expect the teaching style to be different at

university, and demonstratean awareness of the changesthey will have to make to theirlearning style. However, thisawareness does notnecessarily translate intocoping with these changeseasily, and students find thenew style of learningnoticeably more difficult.

When asked, the vastmajority of students (75 percent) believe that the numberof contact hours they receiveis sufficient. Interestingly, thisis not significantly affected byyear of study despite thedifference in contact hours.This suggests that as

students progress through university they are happy toreceive fewer contact hours.

3.2 Who provides contact?Students were asked what percentage of their contacthours were provided by the following groups:professors, senior lecturers, researchers andpostgraduate students. In all institutions most contacthours are provided by professors or senior lecturers,who provide an average of 85 per cent of contacthours - see chart 13. However this is significantlyaffected by institution type, with students who attendRussell Group institutions or Pre-1992 institutionsmore likely to have contact time with a professor thanstudents who attend Post-1992 institutions or otherinstitutions. This trend is reversed when looking atcontact time with senior lecturers - students attendingPost-1992 or other institutions are likely to have moreof this type of contact than students attending eitherRussell Group institutions or Pre-1992 institutions.Again, this indicates that variations in contact timeexceed differences in the actual number of hours.

Throughout the research it became clear that studentsare more likely to speak to staff who are viewed asapproachable and available. Students rarely express


3.2 Who provides contact?




Social studies

Law



Languages



Education


Russell GroupPre-1992Post-1992Other institution

Chart 12: Average weekly contact hours by subject areaQ15: On average, how many contact hours a week do you have at this stage of your course and how are these split into: lectures; interactive group teaching sessions/tutorials, individual teaching sessiosn/tutorials?

%21

2015

12

12

12

12

12

14

14

14

1313

131313

1314

16

17

10

10

10

11

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1211

9

9

9

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99

12

16

148

87

1917

18

18

concern about staff seniority - their initial point ofcontact is a staff member they feel comfortablespeaking to, and who is easily available. In somecases, this makes technicians rather than academicstaff a preferred point of contact.

When asked about the quality of interaction, seniorlecturers and professors were scored the most highly- see chart 14. This would seem to indicate a high

level of correlation between the percentage of contacthours received and the perceived quality of theinteraction.

Interestingly, the contact which students often valueparticularly highly is the time they spend with theirpeers. When asked “what motivates you to learn?” thesecond most popular response, after an inspirationallecturer, was “collaborating with other students” (57per cent). In most cases when students encounteracademic and non-academic difficulties, friends arethe first and often the only points of contact, becausethey more approachable, available and they cancommunicate on a common level.

Students' networks of course-mates are an extremelyvaluable learning resource, both in terms of dealingwith any concerns and also for autonomous learningand discussion. This often occurs outside oftimetabled hours, in a variety of locations includingcafes, library areas and student accommodation. Anunexpected benefit of short amounts of time betweenlectures (1-2 hours) is fostering this valuable horizontal(peer-to-peer) learning. During this time students useboth university-provided and improvised social spacesto discuss the previous lecture's content, raise anyconcerns or queries, and discuss non-academicpursuits.

14


3.2 Who provides contact?

%36

41 40

3229

49

39

43

57

62

6 67 74

8

1210

6 5


Professors Senior lecturers Researchers Postgraduates

Chart 13: Percentage of weekly contact hours with different groupsQ19: What percentage of your weekly contact time is with each of thefollowing: professors, senior lecturers, researchers, postgraduates?


%53

6568 68 69

66 6762

43

38

2025

22

17 16

24

38

30

14 14


Professors(good/excellent net)

Senior lecturers(good/excellent net)

Researchers(good/excellent net)

Postgraduates(good/excellent net)

Chart 14: Quality of contact hours with different groupsQ20: How would you rate the quality of the interaction with each of thefollowing: professors, senior lecturers, researchers, postgraduates?


“I don’t think seniority matters at all.” First-year BSc

“Younger tutors are easier to talk to.” Third-year BSc

Extracts from tudent groups.

“If it’s a social problem, i’ll go to my friends probably... If it’s an academic problem, depends. I’m livingwith [a fellow student] on my course so I’ll probablygo to them or my other friends on my course.”

Extract from interview Second-year BA.

”A course mate just texted me asking questions aboutwork. I was wondering when this would starthappening. Because my course mates know I startwork early, when deadlines creep up they know I'llunderstand things and so they start asking me aboutit.” Third-year BSc

“A few of us have talked about making our own studygroup where we can meet up weekly and discuss thematerial covered in the lecture and see if we can helpeach other make our own sense of it. I think that this isa really good idea and we have discussed puttingsomething up on facebook to see if anyone'sinterested in joining us.” Third-year BA

Extracts from student blogs.

4 PersonalisationThe most common information that students received when choosing their modules was: module content (74 percent), coursework requirements (55 per cent), assessment criteria (48 per cent) and exams (46 per cent) - seechart 15. The focus therefore seems to be very much on the technical requirements of modules - student-specificadvice, such as the opportunity to discuss choices with a personal tutor, is much less common.


4 Personalisation

%74

55

48

46

36

33

32

28

27

21

17

16

11

6

1

Module/option content

Coursework requirements

Assessment criteria and procedures

Exams

Timing of lectures, tutorials, etc

Optional reading lists

Compulsory reading lists

Opportunity to discuss choiceswith my personal tutor

Opportunity to discuss choiceswith the module lecturer/tutor

Information about the tutor/lecturer

None of these/not applicable

Follow-on modules

Opportunity to discuss choiceswith a careers advisor

Opportunity to discuss choices with amember of central student services

Other - please specify

Chart 15: Information received when choosing modulesQ24: What information and support do you receive when choosing whichmodules/options to study? Please select all that apply.

Base: All answering section 3 (2,404)

92

51

2

21

Opportunity to provide feedback on course

Do you feel that the feedback is acted on

Chart 17: Student feedback on courses, given and acted upon Q25: How involved do you believe you are in shaping the content,curriculumor design of your course?Q26: How involved do you want to be in shaping the content,curriculum ordesign of your course?

Yes No

Base: Q28 all answering section3 (2,404), Q29 who have provided feedback (2,223).

%21 21

5 5

1413

28 28

11

17

19

76

4

How involved students are inshaping content of their course

How involved students want to bein shaping the content of their course

Chart 16: Involvement of students in shaping course content Q25: How involved do you believe you are in shaping the content,curriculumor design of your course?Q26: How involved do you want to be in shaping the content,curriculum ordesign of your course?

1Not at allinvolved

2 3 4Somewhatinvolved

5 6 7Very

involved


There is a clear divergence between how involvedstudents feel they are in shaping course content andhow involved they want to be, indicating that studentswould like to be more involved than they currentlybelieve they are - see chart 16.

This disconnect may be a result of the differencebetween students who have the opportunity to providefeedback about their course and those that believethis feedback is acted on - see chart 17 opposite. Thepoint here seems to be that while the vast majority ofstudents (92 per cent) have the opportunity to providefeedback, a much smaller proportion (51 per cent) feelthat it is acted on.

5 Coursework and feedback

5.1 How students receivefeedback on their courseworkWritten marks and grades are received by 90per cent of students, and written commentsreceived by 85 per cent. Verbal feedback (inan individual meeting) is received by 25 percent, while verbal feedback (in a groupmeeting) is received by 22 per cent ofstudents. Interestingly, only one per cent ofstudents say that they receive feedbackthrough the internet, either online or by email.

When these results are crossed by year ofstudy it appears that students are more likelyto receive verbal feedback (either in an individualmeeting or a group meeting) if they are at an earlierstage in their studies - see chart 18 below.Interestingly, this is potentially at odds with studentneeds, as the final year is usually where studentsbecome the most concerned about their studies andrequire the most reassurance and feedback. Studentswho attend a Post-1992 institution are most likely toreceive verbal feedback, with students who attendPre-1992 institutions next likely - see chart 19 below.Surprisingly, students who attend Russell Groupinstitutions are the least likely to receive verbalfeedback, either through an individual meeting or agroup meeting.

Receiving verbal feedback through an individualmeeting also appears to be affected by subject area.Students studying science subjects are least likely toreceive individual verbal feedback, with only 18 percent of those interviewed stating that they receivefeedback in this way. This compares with 30 per centof those studying arts and humanities subjects. Thisexperience would appear to reflect the expectations ofstudents, with arts and humanities students expectingfar more individual contact than science students.However, within arts and humanities there is a largedegree of variation, and the numbers receivingindividual verbal feedback gets as low as 12 per centin education subjects, and as high as 50 per cent inart and design subjects.

When we compare how students receive feedback ontheir coursework with how they would like to receivefeedback, there is a large disconnect between thenumber of people who receive feedback through anindividual meeting and the number who would like toreceive feedback in this way - see the table below.Some 71 per cent of those interviewed would like toreceive feedback through an individual meeting withtheir tutor/lecturer, however only 25 per cent of thosesurveyed currently receive feedback in this way. Whenthis is broken down by gender, female studentsappear most keen to receive feedback throughindividual meetings. Three-quarters (75 per cent) offemale students interviewed say they would like to

16


5 Coursework and feedback

Verbal feedback providedin an individual meeting

with the tutor/lecturerwho set the work

Verbal feedback providedin a group meeting


Base: All students (2,430), first-year (670), other year (1,182), final year (578).

%

25

25

22

22

30

21

17

29

Chart 18: Receipt of verbal feedback by year of studyQ30: How do you receive feedback on your coursework?

Total First-year Intermediate year Final year

Verbal feedback providedin an individual meeting


Verbal feedback providedin a group meeting


Base: All students (2,430), Russell Group (582), Pre-1992 (647), Post-1992 (1,038), Other institutions (161).

Chart 19: Receipt of verbal feedback by institutionQ30: How do you receive feedback on your coursework?

Total Russell Group Pre-1992 Post-1992 Other institutions

25

24

26

36

22

22

21

25

24

18

%

receive feedback in individual meetings, comparedwith 66 per cent of male students.

Some of these issues also cameout in the qualitative work, whereit was found that there is a needfor staff to make themselvesmore available and approachableto students, and to encouragestudents to take up the verbalfeedback they seem to require.

Indeed, students often commented that their ability toget verbal feedback was dependent on a goodrelationship with the tutor; good relationships wherethey feel comfortable to go and ask for verbalfeedback are rare, according to students.

In addition, how performancemeasures up against individualexpectations can affect how satisfiedstudents are with the feedback theyreceive. If there is a disparitybetween expectations and results,students are likely to want not justmore feedback, but differentfeedback. Because of this, thequalitative work found that studentsonly tend to seek feedback onessays/assignments proactivelywhen they have performed less wellthan anticipated, as illustrated in thequote above. However there are

notable exceptions to this, in terms of particularlyengaged students.

5.2 Student attitudes towardscoursework feedbackThere is a high level of agreement with the statementthat “feedback made it clear how well you hadperformed” (78 per cent), however there is much lessagreement that “feedback made it clear how toimprove performance” (56 per cent), or “motivatedyou to study” (54 per cent) - see chart 20. None ofthese statements receive significantly differentresponses when cross-referred with either year ofstudy or institution type.

It also emerged that the content of feedback variesgreatly, and certain forms of feedback are better


5.1 How students receive feedback on their coursework5.2 Student attitudes towards coursework feedback

Makes it clear how wellI have performed on the

coursework assignment/task

Makes it clear how to improvemy performance on future

coursework assignment/task

Motivates me to study

Chart 20: Level of agreement with coursework feedbackQ31: To what extent do you agree with the following statements and feedback you received?

Base: All students (2,398).

1 - Totally disagree 2 34 - Neither agreenor disagree 5 6 7 - Totally agree

%

2

6

4 6 10 24 22 19 13

9 15 14 24 20 12

4 7 9 23 31 24

Q30: How do you receive feedback onyour coursework?

Q32: How would you like to receivefeedback on your coursework?

Written grades/marks 90% 72%

Written comments 85% 81%

Verbal feedback provided in anindividual meeting with the tutor/lecturerwho set the work

25% 71%

Verbal feedback provided in a groupmeeting with the tutor/lecturer who setthe work

22% 29%

Internet/online/email 1% -

Disconnect between verbal feedback and expectations

“Unless you’vedone substantiallyworse than youthought, you’re notgoing to gainmuch from it[feedback].”

First-year BSc

received than others.Students comment that somefeedback can be very generaland therefore difficult to acton - feedback may tellpeople how they hadperformed, but not how toimprove this or why they had

not performed better. Many students comment on'cryptic' feedback, which often poses questions tothem but gives no indication of where they went wrongin their work. Students acknowledge that it may havebeen intended to make them think about areas, but infact it only served to confuse and frustrate them asthey had reached the limit of their understandingwithout assistance.

5.3 Length of time taken to receivecoursework feedbackThe majority of students (55 per cent) receivefeedback on their coursework within three to fourweeks, with 25 per cent saying that it takes five weeksor more to receive feedback. In addition, variabilityappears to be a significant issue, as 18 per cent ofstudents state that it is impossible to say how long ittakes to receive feedback as it varies so much.

When these answers are cross-referred with year ofstudy there appears a trend whereby the moreadvanced in their study the student is, the longer it is

likely to take to receive feedback from coursework -see chart 21. A possible explanation for this may bethat coursework becomes longer or more complex asuniversity study advances.

In addition, the length of time taken to receivecoursework feedback appears to be influenced byinstitution type. Students who attend a Russell Groupinstitution are likely to receive their courseworkfeedback earlier, whereas feedback takes longer atPre-1992 institutions. Students who attend Post-1992institutions have to wait the longest for feedback - seechart 22.

When asked if this timing met their expectations, themajority of students (62 per cent) answer “yes”.However, the timing of feedback is less likely to meetexpectations if students are more advanced in theirstudies, if they attend a Pre-1992 institution, or evenless so if they attend a Post-1992 institutions. Thesefindings obviously relate to the tendency (identifiedabove) for feedback to take longer for those moreadvanced in their studies or attending a Pre-1992institution, and longer still if for those attending a Post-1992 institution.

Students who said that the timing of feedback did notmeet their expectations were then asked how longthey would expect feedback to take. As can be seenin chart 23 on the next page, expectations are heavily

18


5.2 Student attitudes towards coursework feedback5.3 Length of time taken to receive coursework feedback

%5

5

18

1814

1419

21

24

3132

3234

18

39

9

74

8

Chart 21: Average feedback timing by year of study Q33: How long on average does it take for you to receive feedbackon your coursework?

TotalFirst-yearIntermediate yearFinal year

Base: All students (2,398), First-year (665), Intermediate year (1,166), Final year (567).

Less than a week

One or two weeks

Three to four weeks

Five to six weeks

Seven weeksor more

%5

5

5

11

24

1824

22

22

14

1415

2125

2632

3436

77

810

13

18

Chart 22: Average feedback timing by institution typeQ33: How long on average does it take for you to receive feedbackon your coursework?


Base: All students (2,398), Russell Group (571), Pre-1992 (640), Post-1992 (1,027), Other institution (158).

Less than a week

One or two weeks

Three to four weeks

Five to six weeks

Seven weeksor more

“They use riddles, ‘there’ssomething missing here’,‘I liked it, but it lacked insomething’ ... [Theyshould] tell you whyyou’ve lost the marks.”

Extract from student groupThird-year BSc

skewed towards feedback being received sooner, withthe majority (57 per cent) expecting feedback within 1-2 weeks.

Study abroad

When asked if they are planning to study abroad aspart of their course, 16 per cent of students said“yes”. However this is significantly influenced bysubject area, with students studying either medicineand life sciences or languages significantly more likelyto say “yes”. It is also significantly influenced byinstitution type, with students attending either aRussell Group institution or a Post-1992 institutionmore likely to say “yes”. When asked what they hopeto gain from this experience, the most popularanswers were: “greater confidence” (76 per cent),“better employment prospects” (72 per cent), to“become more self-reliant” (66 per cent), and “betterlanguage skills” (61 per cent). When students notplanning to study abroad were asked for their reasonsthe main reasons were: that it is “not relevant to mycourse” (55 per cent), and a “concern about finance”(33 per cent).

6 AccommodationAs is to be expected, the type of accommodation thatstudents live in is significantly influenced by year ofstudy. First-year students are significantly more likelyto live in university halls of residence, and other andfinal-year students are more likely to live in privaterented accommodation - see chart 24.

Within this there is also some difference byinstitution type, as students who attend eitherRussell Group institutions or Pre-1992 institutionsare significantly more likely to live in universityhalls of residence than students attending eitherPost-1992 institutions or other institutions. Incontrast, students attending Post-1992 institutionsare more likely to live in privately-owned halls ofresidence.

When asked if they are happy with theiraccommodation, the vast majority of students (84per cent) said they were. Interestingly, this is not

affected by year of study, which suggests thatstudents accept the changes in accommodation thatare likely to occur as they progress through university.There is however some difference when cross-referredwith type of accommodation; those in university-owned halls of residence are more likely to be happywith their accommodation than students in privately-owned halls of residence.

First-year students are generally very satisfied withhalls provided by the university. Crucial for many is thefact that they share their accommodation with a largenumber of students, allowing them to meet peopleand make friends. This allows them to securehousemates for their second-year accommodation,and seek support for a wide variety of areas including


6 Accommodation

%55

18

18

57

3237

1

7

Chart 23: Actual and expected average feedback time

Q33: How long on averagedoes it take for you to receivefeedback on your coursework?

Q35: How long would you reasonably expect it to taketo receive feedback onyour coursework?

Q33 Base: All answering section 4 (2,398).Q35 Base: All where feedback timing did not meet expectations (734).

Less than a week

One or two weeks

Three to four weeks

Five to six weeks

Seven weeksor more

Base: All answering section 5 (2,388), First-year (629), Other year (1,210), Final year (549).


Chart 24: Accommodation type by year of studyQ42: What type of accommodation do you currently live in?

%19

1919

20

3277

10

7

7

6

33

3

222

22

2

1

1

54

8

5051

Privately rented accommodation

My parents’ home

University-owned hall ofresidence – self-catered

My own home

University-owned hall ofresidence – partly/fully catered

Privately-owned hall of residence

Flat/house owned by the univesity

Property rented from thecouncil/housing association

Other property owned by me or my family

their course, sports and social clubs, and non-academic concerns. While inevitably there are someclashes with other students in halls of residence, andthey can be a distracting environment, these are seenas small prices to pay for the benefits. This said,some students do express a desire for the universityto make it easier to move within or between halls ifthey wish to, by ensuring that there are free roomsand space available.

For most, halls offer a protected environment and avaluable first step into independence. The lack ofutility costs is seen as a particularly positive aspect,particularly in retrospect by those who have since lefthalls. This protection allows them to focus on buildingnetworks and acclimatising to their independence.

From a practicalpoint of view, moststudents attach afair amount ofimportance tohaving a study areain their room. Thisusually consists ofa desk, with roomfor a desktopcomputer and

printer, an internet connection and a shelf to storetextbooks and ring-binders. While students may notuse this area extensively, they expect it and consider itimportant to have.

Aside from this, university halls tend to fulfill all studentrequirements in terms of sleeping, relaxation,entertaining and personal hygiene. Students arehappy with the space provided and with the facilitiesavailable. Security is also seen as particularly highwithin halls of residence.

Privately-owned halls are seen as particularlyexpensive, both by those who live in them and thosewho do not. However, having seen other universityaccommodation, those who pay a premium forprivately-owned halls consider it to be worth the extramoney. This said, the extra expense of living in self-catering accommodation, and the fact that newstudents have comparatively little knowledge abouthow to budget for food, results in some students inprivate accommodation having more financialconcerns than those in university-owned, cateredaccommodation.

One aspect of halls that is not necessarily seen as abenefit by students is the presence of a hall bar. Whilethese are useful areas for socialisation and buildingnetworks, first-years acknowledge that they provide aconstant temptation to spend money, one which isoften compounded by peer pressure from theirhallmates.

When students were asked if they were happy with thechoice of accommodation offered to them by theiruniversity, the majority (55 per cent) said “yes”.However this is significantly influenced by institutiontype, with students who attend Russell Groupinstitutions the most likely to be happy and the leastlikely to have not been offered accommodation - seechart 25. At the other end of the scale, students whoattend either Post-1992 institutions or other institutionsare significantly more likely not to be happy with theaccommodation offered, as well as more likely not tobe offered accommodation.

Once students move past the first year, the majorityenter into private, rented accommodation. For mostsecond-years, the process of finding a house is seenas an exciting and enjoyable process. University listsare used, but not relied upon; most have an ideal that

20


6 Accommodation

“I should use the day to do work. I seem to have so much to do already! [I] need to make an effort to keepon top of it, it's so easy to get distracted living in halls though, there's always something going on.”

Extract from student blog, First-year BA

“I didn't really feel that I was included because I wasn't living on campus”

Extract from student interview, First-year BSc

Typical study areaFirst-year BSc

they are attempting to fulfill and feel that by restrictingthemselves to university lists they are unlikely to findthe right place.

Most students findthe move a slightshock; theintroduction ofutility payments,food bills andhouse maintenancecan cause someconcern in thesecond year. Thisoften requires theestablishment ofsystems withinhouses to preventany argumentsaround theseareas; indeedhouseholds wherethese systems are

not introduced are often characterised by disputesand financial arguments. This seems to be an areawhere guidance could be provided to ensure studentsare able to avoid conflicts.

Occasionally serious issues can arise withhousemates, and some students comment that it

would be useful if the university could provide anoption to move back into halls if issues becomesevere.

Within the third year comparatively little changes; theshock of utility bills and food has been dealt with,although in many cases third years have taken drasticsteps to curb these expenses (see finance section onpage 27). In this year the importance of studentshaving a good relationship with their housematesincreases as their studies become more critical.Housemates are depended upon to respect third-yearstudents' need for quiet, and in many cases to providesupport and assistance with their academic work.Again, peer relationships emerge as a critical areawithin the student experience.

Looking at the type of social spaces that students areoffered in university accommodation reveals moresignificant differences by institution type. As can beseen in chart 26, students who attend Russell Groupinstitutions and, to a lesser degree, students whoattend Pre-1992 and other institutions are more likelyto be provided with a range of social spaces thanstudents attending Post-1992 institutions. Thisdifference is particularly evident when looking atcomputer rooms, cafés/restaurants, licensed bars andeating areas.

However the social spaces provided by universitiesand students' unions show much less difference byinstitution than those provided in universityaccommodation - see charts 26 and 27. Indeed, withthe exception of common rooms and club meetingrooms, it appears that different institutions providevery similar social spaces.

When asked “to what extent do social spaces meetyour needs?”, the majority of students (61 per cent)think that existing social spaces meet their needs. Ascould be expected, this is influenced by institutiontype, with students who attend Russell Groupinstitutions the most likely to feel their needs are met(73 per cent) and students who attend Post-1992institutions (57 per cent) and other institutions (42 percent) less likely to believe this. Interestingly, it is also


Example of a system in a second-year household – using jars and awhiteboard to deal with utility bills.

Second-year BA

%70

60

46 45

913

11

17

911

1719


Yes No I was not offeredany accommodation

Chart 25: Happiness with accommodation by institution typeQ44: Were you happy with the choice of accommodation offered to you by the university?


significantly influenced by ethnicity - with whitestudents more likely to feel that the social spacesprovided meet their needs than either black or Asianstudents. When ethnicity is cross-referenced byinstitution type there are no significant differences, sothis finding is unlikely to result from a higherproportion of white students going to institutionswhere students are more likely to feel their needs aremet. Therefore this finding is likely to result fromdifferent cultural needs that are not beingaccommodated.

There are very few differences between the socialspaces provided to students at their accommodationand their university/students' union and the socialspaces they would like - see charts 28 and 29. Thebiggest difference appears between the number ofstudents who have access to a common room andthe number who would like to be provided with one -see chart 29. There are very few differences by

22


6 Accommodation

%45

3132

35


Shared living room

Café/restaurant

Shared kitchen/eating area

Licensed bar

TV room

Laundry facilities

Outdoor area – garden, BBQ area

Football/rugby pitches

Computer room

Chart 26: Social spaces at university accommodation by institution typeQ46: Which of the following social spaces are provided at your university?Please select all that are provided.


2628

1932

6060

4349

3730

1327

4132

1622

6261

4352

4840

2338

18

18

2312

19

3432

31


Common room for students

Café/restaurant

Licensed bar

TV room

Club meeting rooms/areas

Bookable rooms

Library common room

Chaplaincy space

Central catering facilities

None of these

Chart 27: Social spaces provided by universities and students’ unionsQ46: Which of the following social spaces are provided at your university?Please select all that are provided.


%57

8586

8176

8685

8185

3123

2025

7158

4442

7575

6868

6166

6057

6466

4759

5662

5458

2

23

1

4127

24

Common room for students

Café/restaurant

Licensed bar

TV room

Club meeting rooms/areas

Bookable rooms

Library common room

Chaplaincy space

Central catering facilities

%

3852

8337

8334

2434

5435

7135

6234

5718

5730

Social spaces provided atuniversty accommodationSocial spaces desired atuniversity accommodation

Chart 29: Social spaces provided/desired by universities and students’ unionsQ46: Which of the following social spaces are provided at your university?Please select all that are provided.Q48: Which kinds of social space would you like provided at your university?Please select all that are provided.


%35

32

2424

24

2423

23

3432

1618

2623

2729

53

52

Social spaces provided atuniversty accommodationSocial spaces desired atuniversity accommodation

Shared living room

Café/restaurant

Shared kitchen/eating area

Licensed bar

TV room

Laundry facilities

Outdoor area – garden, BBQ area

Football/rugby pitches

Computer room

Chart 28: Social spaces provided/desired at university accommodationQ46: Which of the following social spaces are provided at your university?Please select all that are provided.Q48: Which kinds of social space would you like provided at your university?Please select all that are provided.


ethnicity, which makes it very difficult to discernwhy black and Asian students don't feel that theexisting social spaces meet their needs.

Students frequently comment that many of thesocial spaces provided by universities encouragethem to spend money. The presence of cafés,restaurants and bars tend to result in studentsoverspending, particularly in the second and thirdyears when their accommodation is usually furtheraway from university sites. Indeed, a desire wasexpressed for more areas within the university thatare comfortable and don't encourage spending.Further evidence for this comes from students' useof the library as a social space. Areas within thelibrary where they are able to talk and use ITresources are often used for socialising as well aslearning. This does have a knock-on effect ofdiscouraging some students who want to use thelibrary for work purposes, as the environment isseen as too much of a distraction. As such, itwould seem that social areas near the library, butnot necessarily within the library, would be moreeffective at providing areas for socialising withoutspending money, without interfering with the library'spurpose as a study area.

7 Facilities and resourcesExamining the extent to which a range of academicfacilities provided by universities meet students' needsshows that in general the majority of students feel thattheir needs are being met - see chart 30. Interestingly,no significant differences appear when these resultsare cross-referenced with institution type, whichsuggests there is much less disparity betweeninstitutions in providing learning based-facilities. Thefacilities needs that the fewest number of students arehappy with relate to practical work, where only 54 percent of students feel their needs are met. However thismay be partly explained by the responses of studentstaking subjects that do not require facilities forpractical work - the majority of students takingsubjects that require practical work, such as sciencesubjects, say that their needs are met.

The finding that most students feel that their needsare being met was also supported when studentswere asked what other learning facilities/resourcesthey would like their university to provide. Here, themost popular response by far was “none” or “nothing”(80 per cent), indicating that the vast majority of


7 Facilities and resources

%71

76

70 7067 67 6767

54 5451

75 7579

697272 73

70

84 8481

79 7975

7982

78 78

87 8784

7074

6968

90

82

87

57

Chart 30: Adequacy of facilities by year of study Q49: To what extent do the following learning facilities/resources provided by your university meet your needs?

Total (meets my needs net)First-year (meets my needs net)Other year (meets my needs net)Final year (meets my needs net)

Base: All answering section 6 (2,373), First-year (600), Other year (1,206), Final year (567).

Qui

et/in

divi

dual

stud

y ar

eas

Faci

litie

s fo

rpr

actic

al w

ork

Libr

ary

acce

ss/

open

ing

hour

s

Com

pute

r acc

ess/

open

ing

hour

s

Gro

up s

tudy

are

as

Boo

ks

Com

pute

rs

Inte

rnet

acc

ess

IT s

uppo

rt

Perio

dica

ls/jo

urna

ls


Students’ union

Sports facilities

Student advice

Licensed bars

Union shop

Guidance and counselling advice

Special interest clubs

Food outlets

Social meeting areas

Chaplaincy/multi-faith centre

Chart 31: Social facilities provided by university/students’ unionQ51: Which of the following are available to you through your university/students’ union? Please select all that are provided.


%88

9189

85

8891

8377

8488

8275

8489

7976

8190

8157

8284

7569

8381

7558

8185

7360

7671

6353

7373

6062

students are satisfied with the facilities on offer. Whenstudents were ask about the more social andrecreational facilities provided by their university,institution type can be seen to be more influential -see charts 31 and 32. In particular, cultural facilitiesincluding theatres and music venues, trips andholidays and late night transport are significantly morelikely to be provided by either Russell Group or Pre-1992 institutions than Post-1992 or other institutions.

Attending a rural-basedinstitution can have aslightly negative impacton socialising andnetworking, withstudents claiming tohave more restrictionsplaced on them when itcomes to choice in thesocialising andnetworking venuesavailable to them.Students describe therebeing a social dividebetween those who aremore able to travel to thenearest city and

socialize, and those who can't. Some studentsfeel more able to do this because they haveless restrictive timetables or more financialfreedoms, whereas others may be restricted tostaying on campus and may feel they aremissing out on important social opportunities.Having a smaller number of students clusteredat venues in and around rural universities canoffer fewer opportunities to socialise andnetwork with a large number of students thanat universities in central, city-based locations.

Students attending rural-based institutions tendto have greater expectations of, and rely moreheavily on, university social facilities andresources such as student union bars. Thesehigh expectations are met to a large degree,but rural-based universities are more likely toreceive criticism from students.

Chart 33 details the frequency with which these socialfacilities are used. This shows that social areas suchas bars and meeting areas are the most frequentlyused services, ahead of services including counsellingand multi-faith centres. There are some differences bysocio-economic group, as students from lower socio-economic groups are likely to use sports facilities andspecial interest clubs less often than those from

24


7 Facilities and resources


Cultural facilities (theatres, music performancevenues, exhbition spaces, etc)

Charity/volunteering opportunities

Job shop/employment agency

Employment within the university

Volunteering opportunities

Discounts with local businesses/services

Trips/holidays

Late night transport

Creative facilities (e.g. photo labs, theatres, etc)

Chart 32: Learning facilities provided by university/students’ unionQ51: Which of the following are available to you through your university/students’ union? Please select all that are provided.


%78

7355

54

75

6372

6433

6970

5752

6364

5338

4543

4132

4345

3332

4444

2513

4030

2526

7457

51

%5 24 13 11 46

5 40 28 11 15

9 38 26 14 13

3 14 27 54

3 8 16 71

5 9 15 69

2 7 15 74

2 1417 13 53

14 2346 8 8

13 2139 7 19

1 55 8 79

1 267 22 42

1 165 26 49

2 75 12 73

1 95 15 68

5 2723 15 28

2 199 13 55

4 168 17 55

Sports facilities

Student advice

Licensed bars

Union shop

Guidance and counselling services

Special interest clubs

Food outlets

Social meeting areas

Chaplaincy/multi-faith centre

Cultural facilities

Charity/volunteer opportunities

Job shop/employment agency

Employment within the university

Volunteering opportunities

Discounts with local businesses/services

Trips/holidays

Late night transport

Creative facilities

Chart 33: Frequency of use of different facilitiesQ52: How often do you use these during term time?

Base: All using facilities

Every day Once or twice a week Once or twice a term Less than once a term Never

higher socio-economic groups. Thissuggests that for a number ofstudents availability is not the onlybarrier to use.

Students are aware of careers adviceservices at their place of study buttend to rely more heavily on guidancefrom their peers and tutors, who havea more holistic view of their skills,interests and strengths. Careersadvice is expected to be more usefulfor those with a clear end goal in mindthan for those who are less sure abouttheir future plans, such as Optionopeners and Toe dippers.

8 Student welfare servicesAs is to be expected, the welfareservices that students feel most meettheir needs are general services such asacademic support, advice and guidanceand study skills support - see chart 34.However, the overall proportion ofstudents who believe welfare servicesdo not meet their needs is fairly small forall the services under discussion. Thereis very little difference in results fordifferent types of institution.

As can be seen in chart 35, there is verylittle difference in student perceptions ofthe information provided by university welfare servicesand students' union welfare services. In both casesthe information is seen to be broadly helpful.

9 Bullying, sexual harassment andsafety

9.1 BullyingWhen asked if they had personally experienced anybullying during their time at university, only a smallminority of students (7 per cent) said yes. Howeverthis was significantly influenced by gender, with

women more likely to saythey have experiencedbullying. Of those who haveexperienced bullying, themajority (79 per cent) saythat the bullying was carriedout by another student, and24 per cent say it was carriedout by a member of staff. Themajority of students whohave experienced bullyingdid not report the bullying tothe university - see chart 36.


8 Student welfare services9 Bullying, sexual harassment and safety

%63 18 12 7

56 13 9 22

17131753

48 16 14 23

29121445

38 12 14 36

4991131

24 10 12 54

626724

21 5 5 69

715617

13 5 5 78

Academic support

General advice and guidance

Study skills support

Careers advice

Healthcare/physical well-being

Financial advice

Other mental health support services

Legal advice

Chaplaincy

Disability and dyslexia support

Specialist services for international students

Immigration advice

Chart 34: Extent to which welfare services meet student needsQ54: To what extent do the folowing student welfare services provided by the university/students’ union meet your needs?

Base: All answering section 7 (2,343).Meets my needs net Partly meets my needs

Does not meet my needs net Don’t know/not applicable

University’s studentwelfare services

Students’ unionwelfare services

Chart 35: Helpfulness of information and adviceQ55: How helpful is the information and advice offered by the welfare services?


Very helpful net Somewhat helpful Not at all helpful net Don’t know/not applicable

%

35 18 7 40

34 16 8 43

%29

71

Chart 36: Proportion of bullying reported to university Q59: Did you report the bullying to the university?

Base: All experiencing bullying (180).

Yes No

By far the most popular response when students wereasked why they did not report bullying was that theydid not know who in the university to report it to. Whenbullying occurs, students who are more sociallysuccessful and have larger networks of friends to relyon are more likely to cope with and overcome theseproblems more effectively. Students usually prefer togo to friends when seeking advice related to bullyingor conflict, and go to the university as a last resort.

Of those who did report bullying to their university,only 38 per cent say that the university providedadequate support to resolve the bullying or that theuniversity provided excellent advice and support.Another 38 per cent say that the university providedsome advice and assistance but it was inadequate toresolve the bullying, and 23 per cent say that theuniversity did not provide any support.

9.2 Sexual harassmentThe proportion of students who say they haveexperienced sexual harassment while at university ismuch lower - only 2 per cent. However this was again

influenced by gender, withwomen students significantlymore likely to haveexperienced suchharassment. Among thosewho have experienced sexualharassment, again themajority (64 per cent) say theharassment was carried outby another student, and 23per cent say it was carried outby a member of staff.Worryingly, a larger proportionof students who haveexperienced sexualharassment say that they did

not report it to the university - see chart 37.

Of those who reported sexual harassment to theiruniversity, half (50 per cent) say that although theyreceived some advice and support it was insufficientto resolve the harassment. A fifth (20 per cent) saythat they did not receive any support, and 30 per cent

say that they received sufficient support to resolve theharassment or excellent support.

9.3 SafetyWhen asked if they have experienced any crime whileat university, 12 per cent of students say that theyhave. Again, this was significantly influenced bygender. However, in contrast to findings relating tobullying and sexual harassment, men are more likelyto be the victims of crime. Chart 38 below detailspeople who carried out the crimes - perhapssurprisingly, the most common perpetrators are otherstudents.

Of those who said they had experienced crime atuniversity, 37 per cent say they reported it to theuniversity. While this is a higher proportion than forbullying and sexual harassment, the majority ofstudents (63 per cent) still did not report the crime tothe university. Having reported crime to the university,64 per cent of students say that the university did notprovide any support or that it provided insufficientsupport to resolve the crime. In contrast, 34 per centsay that the university provided excellent support orthat it provided enough support to resolve the crime.

Looking at the security measures provided byuniversities demonstrates that a number of measuresare influenced by institution type. Night buses, policeliaison officers, awareness campaigns and bikeregistration services are all significantly more likely tobe provided by Pre-1992 or Russell Group institutionsthan either Post-1992 or other institutions - see chart39. Comparing the security measures currently

26


9.2 Sexual harassment9.3 Safety

%

19

81

Chart 37: Proportion of sexual harassment reported to university Q64: Did you report the sexual harassment to the university?

Base: All experiencing sexual harassment (53).

Yes No

%

34

26

11

7

Chart 38: Perpetrators of crime Q67: Was the crime carried out by a member of staff or by another student or someone else?

Base: All experiencing crime(300).

Another student

Member of public

Don’t know

Burglary

10 Finances, debt and cost of living

10.1 Cost of livingLooking at the various elements of the cost of living,prospective students seem to have fairly accurateinsights into what they would be spending. Studentscurrently at university were asked how much theyspend each week on the following areas: books,equipment, field trips, groceries, rent, other bills (eg

utilities), socialising and routine travel. Prospectivestudents were asked what they thought they wouldspend on the same items, and the results show somesignificant differences - see the table below.

In most cases, respondents slightly under-predictedthe amount they would spend. There was a largerunderestimation of future spending on travel andgroceries. The latter may be surprising given thatrespondents tend to think that the cost of specific


10 Finances, debt and cost of living


Night buses

Well-lit paths

Security staff

Police liaison officer

Awareness campaigns

Bike registration service

Chart 39: Campus security measures by institution typeQ70: Which, if any, of the following measures does your university/students’ union provide to improve safety on campus?


%47

4625

15

53

5741

49

75

8068

74

22

2517

14

52

5033

34

27

158

6Measures provided

Measures would likeprovided or improved

Night buses

Well-lit paths

Security staff

Police liaison officer

Awareness campaigns

Bike registration service

Chart 40: Actual and desired campus security measuresQ70: Which, if any, of the following measures does your university/students’ union provide to improve safety on campus?Q71: And which, if any, of these measures would you like your university/students’ union to introduce or improve?


%

35

48

37

73

25

20

28

42

23

14

20

40

ItemCurrent students

(actual weeklyspend)

School leavers(predicted weekly

spend)

Actual annualspend*

Predictedannualspend*

Annualshortfall inprediction*

Shortfall as %of prediction

Books £9.40 £8.77 £225.60 £210.48 £15.12 7.2%

Equipment £8.04 £8.34 £192.96 £200.16 -£7.20 -3.6%

Field trips £6.74 £7.93 £161.76 £190.32 -£28.56 15.0%

Groceries £29.52 £21.24 £708.48 £509.76 £198.72 39.0%

Rent £75.47 £79.25 £1,811.28 £1,902.00 -£90.72 -4.8%

Other bills £30.82 £24.32 £739.68 £583.68 £156.00 26.7%

Socialising £28.15 £23.92 £675.60 £574.08 £101.52 17.7%

Daily/routine travel £16.04 £11.85 £384.96 £284.40 £100.56 35.4%

Total £204.18 £185.62 £4,900.32 £4,454.88 £445.44 10.0%

provided by universities with measures that students would like to see provided or improved shows that nightbuses are the most popular measure that universities could introduce or improve on.

Average weekly expenditure

Q12/Q83: How much, approximately, do you (expect to) spend each week on...

Base: All students (2,393), all school leavers (250). *Based on 24 weeks: HESA minimum definition of a full-time student

food items are higher thanthey actually are. This mightbe explained by the fact thatalthough respondents mayoverestimate the cost ofindividual items, theyunderestimate the volume

(amount/frequency) of food they will buy each week.This is backed up by findings within the qualitativeresearch, indicating that in many cases studentsunderestimate the volume and types of food they willneed to buy.

There was no consistent variation by region. However,prospective students from the Midlands predictspending the most each week on groceries (£26.43),and those from the South predict spending the least(£18.63). The most marked variation in predictedexpenditure relates to rent: students coming from theSouth expect rent to cost £90.15 a week, compared tojust £64.10 for those coming from the North. Perhapsconfirming their reputation for being the friendliestregion in the country, prospective students from theNorth plan to spend the most - £27.04 - on socialisingeach week, with those from the Midlands planning tospend just £21.87.

Several areas emerged as unexpected, hidden costs.Travel was one of these areas, particularly at secondand third-year levels. As students move further awayfrom the university site, the cost of getting to and fromteaching sessions and resources begins to becomean issue. Until this cost begins to affect them, moststudents display little awareness of its presence andvery little budgeting towards meeting this cost.Another example of hidden costs is the impact of

buying food on site. Studentsfrequently spend largeamounts on meals boughtfrom shops, restaurants andbars on the university site,and feel that they have little orno option but to spend thismoney. Again, this isparticularly prominent amongsecond- and third-year

students, as they are further away from theiraccommodation and the ability to make their own,cheaper food.

One particularly interesting area of spending is themoney spent on course materials. For many students,this is at its highest in the first year, when they buy aparticularly large amount of textbooks, stationery andother items to set them up for their study. As studentsmove through the university experience they findstrategies to reduce their course spend year by year,by using more library books, buying them second-hand and recycling old stationery. Arts students areoften an exception to this, spending more in their lateryears on materials for their coursework.

Across all areas of spending, the total underestimationof weekly spending amounts to a little under £20,which is a sizeable amount on a student budget, andsuggests that prospective students may find theystruggle to make ends meet when they commencestudies.

10.2 GroceriesDespite, or perhaps even because of, the well-publicised increases in the cost of living essentialsover recent months, students tend to be overlypessimistic in estimating the cost of various grocerystaples, as shown in table below.

28


10.2 Groceries

“I thought I’d need to buyone loaf of bread perweek and that was all I’dneed!”

Extract from student groupFirst-year BA

“I went for lunch in thecanteen.”

“lunch and a drink in thebar”

“went for lunch in thecanteen again. I reallyneed to break this habit,it’s expensive!”

Extract from student blogSecond-year BA

Item Estimated price Actual supermarketprice*

1 kilo dry spaghetti £1.55 £1.15

1 pint semi-skimmed milk £0.78 £0.42

1 loaf of slicedwhite bread £1.00 £0.72

1 tin baked beans £0.52 £0.31

200g cheddarcheese £1.71 £1.17

500g plain rice £1.56 £0.90

6 sausages £2.03 £1.99

Estimated cost of staple groceries

Q14: Please estimate what the following items would cost tobuy in a normal shop today.

Base: All school leavers (250). *based on supermarket own-label or mainstream brand.

Prospective students overestimate what it wouldactually cost to buy six of the seven food items (allexcept sausages) in a supermarket. Given that a highproportion of these students are still living in theparental home and are not therefore responsible forthe weekly household shop, this may not besurprising. It is also possible that extensive mediacoverage of the rise in the cost of living (food, gas,electricity, petrol, mortgage payments etc) may havecoloured respondents' perceptions of the real picture.So in this respect at least, students starting universityin autumn 2008 may have been pleasantly surprised.

There were no marked differences between regions inthe cost of groceries, and no region was consistentlycheaper or more expensive than any other. This mayseem to confound expectations that the cost of livingis cheaper in the north than the south, but this shouldnot be a surprise given the fact that supermarketstend to maintain uniform pricing across the country.

10.3 Level of concern about financialsituation at universityThose yet to commence their studies are less likely toexpress a firm opinion about the state of their likelyfinancial situation than those already at university,which is to be expected. Chart 41 shows how currentand future students rate their level of concern abouttheir actual or anticipated financial situation.

While 16 per cent of current students are not at allworried about their financial situation, only six per centof prospective students expect to feel the same way.At the other end of the spectrum, while only eight percent of prospective students say they are extremelyworried about student finances, this rises to 13 percent among current students. This indicates that,unsurprisingly, future students feel less qualified toexpress a strong opinion, as there is a large amountof uncertainty about what the future holds.

From thequalitativeresearch weknow that thisuncertaintyseems to be theresult of severalfactors: thosewho have hadsome advice orinformation about the financial aspect of university lifeusually received it in a class or lecture. In most cases,they had extremely poor recall of the information,usually because they found it unclear or thought itlacked useful, practical advice.

However, most prospective students are simply notmotivated to seek out information on their financial

outlook while at university. Mostbelieve that financial concernsare an inevitable part of university,but not one they wish to dwell on.

Many current students havealmost blind faith that if they needanything, it can be obtained.Within the qualitative research,students often disregard potentialproblems by assuming theanswer can be found somewhere,and with relative ease.

Results indicate that futurestudents from the north are mostpolarised in their opinions, with a


10.3 Level of concern about financial situation at university

All students

School leavers

Male students

Female students

Measured on 7-point scale: 7 = extremely worried, 4 = somewhat worried, 1 = not at all worried

Chart 41: Level of concern about financial situationQ15/Q80: How worried are you about your financial situation/what your financial situation at university will be?

Base: All students (2,393), Male students (1,037), Female students (1,354), School leavers (250).

Don’t know 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

%

2 13 10 11 23 15 11 16

2 11 8 10 22 16 11 21

1 15 11 12 24 14 11 12

8 13 12 31 19 26 6

“We had a meeting at school at somepoint, she talked roughly around itbut I didn't understand a word of it.”

“There's no point worrying about it, ifyou've got to do it, you've got to do it”

“I'm sure the websites give you all theinformation.”

Extracts from student groupsSecond-Year BSc, First-Year BSc

higher proportion claiming to be both unworried (21per cent scored 1-2, compared with eight per cent inthe Midlands and 18 per cent in the south), andworried (28 per cent scored 6-7, compared with 21per cent in the Midlands and 20 per cent in the south).

Results suggest that first-year students are the mostrelaxed about their financial situation, with 30 per centgiving a score of 1-2 (lowest level of worry), comparedwith 25 per cent of intermediate and final-yearstudents (although this is not a statistically significantdifference). This is reflected in the qualitative research,which illustrates that in the early years of study,students tend to take a fairly carefree attitude to theirfinances. This attitude is usually the result of severalfactors; the protected environment of halls, along withmoney saved from working before going to university.However, reality kicks in by the final year, with studentsoften having to cut back on expenditure andbecoming more conscious about the size of theiroverdrafts.

The qualitative research indicates thatalthough students approaching the endof their studies are concerned about theirfinances, their attitude is one ofresignation to their situation, rather thanoutright worry, and that most students donot regret their actions. Having said this,final-year students are taking fairlydrastic steps to try and curb theirspending and prevent themfrom getting into any more debt.These strategies are often knee-jerk reactions rather thancarefully considered strategiesto save money, resulting instudents making cuts to basicamenities such as heating andelectricity, while spending largeamounts on a daily basis onfood.

Among current students, wecan see that men feel muchmore comfortable about their

financial situation than women; a fifth (21 per cent) ofmen express no worry at all about their finances,compared with just 12 per cent of women. Similarly, afifth (19 per cent) of men give a score of 6-7 for theirlevel of worry, compared with a quarter (26 per cent)of women. This is perhaps indicative of differingattitudes to finance between men and women, withmen more likely to express confidence and take risks,and women inclined to take a more cautious andconservative approach, and hence more likely toexpress concern about their situation.

This may also be related to how actual levels of debtmatch up against expected debt levels. When asked,half (49 per cent) of current students say their debtlevels are as expected. This varies by gender - womenare significantly more likely to say their debt is higherthan expected (33 per cent) than men (28 per cent).Again, this may be down to differing perceptions andexpectations, rather than actual levels of debt. Overall,only six per cent say the size of their debt is lowerthan expected.

Further differences between men andwomen become apparent whenexamining levels of concern about debtlevels: 28 per cent of men areunconcerned, giving a score of 1-2,compared to just 18 per cent of women -a significant difference. At the otherextreme the situation was reversed: 20

30


10.3 Level of concern about financial situation at university

“It was so cold todaythat we actually put theheating on for a bit. Ipersonally was fine witha few extra layers ofclothes and not puttingthe heating on…”

Extract from Student BlogThird-Year BSc

Chart 42: Level of concern about current debt levelsQ79: How concerned are you about your current levels of debt?

Measured on 7-point scale: 7 = extremely worried, 4 = somewhat worried, 1 = not at all worried

Base: All students (2,393), Male students (1,037), Female students (1,354).

Don’t know 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

%

All students

Male students

Female students

6 14 10 10 24 12 8 15

5 12 8 10 23 13 10 18

6 16 12 11 25 12 6 12

per cent of men give a score of 6-7for level of concern, as opposed to 28per cent of women - anothersignificant difference. This is shown inchart 42 on the previous page.

Students in their intermediate andfinal years of study are significantlymore likely than first-year students tohave higher than expected levels ofdebt: 34 per cent of non first-yearstudents place themselves in thiscategory, with just 23 per cent of first-year students doing so.

10.4 Sources of fundingwhile at universityThe primary source of funding is, notsurprisingly, the student loan. Two-thirds of current students possess a student loan tocover their living expenses, and three in fourprospective students plan to take out such a loan.Taking out the student loan is an almost universal stepfor students as a result of its favourable conditions,encouragement from teachers and careers advisors,and in many cases because taking the loan has

almost become partof the universityexperience.

Indeed, for most thestudent loan is notseen as true 'debt',partly due to itsfavourablerepaymentconditions, and

partly because of the speed and ease of obtaining thefunds. Obtaining a student loan is in fact becoming asocial norm, and a part of the student experiencewhich students feel should be obtained regardless oftheir financial situation. For many, the loan 'cycle'dictates the way they behave financially throughoutthe academic year; spending an abnormally largeamount at the start of the year and reducing theirspend drastically later on in the year.

A slightly smaller percentage have taken, or will takeout, a loan to cover tuition fees. Among currentstudents, these sources of funding are far moreprevalent than any others.

Future students from the north are the most likely toplan taking out student loans: 89 per cent and 80 percent, respectively, for living expense loans and tuitionfee loans. This compares with 71 per cent and 62 percent, respectively, for those living in the south (forthose in the Midlands, the figures were 73 per centand 74 per cent, respectively).

As can be seen in chart 43, there are some strikingdifferences between what funding sources prospectivestudents anticipate they will use, and what students


10.4 Sources of funding while at university

Student loan to cover living expenses

Student loan to cover tuition fees

Money from family/friends

Maintenance/special support grant

Income from paid employment

Existing savings

Bursary from university*

Scholarship etc based on results

%

6774

5866

4144

3656

3346

3246

2842

53

Current students

School leavers

Chart 43: Sources of fundingQ11/Q72: Which of the following sources of funding do (plan to) you use/receive?

Base: All answering (2,393), School oeavers (250).

* Based on all except final-year students, due to a change in the bursary system at beginning of academic year 2006/7 (1,834).

“There wasn't really any thoughtto it: I want to go to uni, so I geta loan.”

“It feels like easy money when itonly takes five minutes and youget 10 grand.”

Extracts from student groupsFirst-Year BSc, Second-Year BSc “Because I had no lectures I finally got round to

spending my student loan today, it's been in myaccount a few weeks, but I've been so busyworking every minute I'm not in lectures, I haven'thad the chance to go shopping.

So I went to New Look and got some newclothes… we went to HMV and chose someDVDs… We also managed to get the digibox we'dseen in the Argos catalogue.“

Extract from student blog, Second-Year BA

actually use. Whereas nearly half (46 per cent) offuture students think they will use existing savings, infact only a third (32 per cent) actually do so.Prospective students in the north appear to be themost optimistic regarding their ability to use savings(59 per cent), with those in the south perhaps taking amore realistic view (36 per cent). Nearly twice as manyfuture students as current students plan to make useof a university bursary (42 per cent versus 23 percent), perhaps a sign of unrealistic or overoptimisticexpectations (the qualitative research indicates thatthere is a degree of confusion over how suchbursaries operate). A similar pattern exists formaintenance or special support grants, with 56 percent of prospective students planning to access thissource of funding and 36 per cent of current studentsdoing so, although this may reflect the increasedeligibility for students from autumn 2008.

11 Student employmentThe overwhelming majority of students, three out offour, take on paid employment to help make endsmeet, either during term time or during the holidays.Holiday work is more popular than term time work,with 51 per cent of students planning to work duringthe holidays, as opposed to 35 per cent during termtime - see chart 44 opposite.

Interestingly, the number of students who work duringterm time is not significantly influenced by year ofstudy. This is surprising as the qualitative interviewsshow that student attitudes towards the first year ofuniversity can be quite dismissive, with a number ofstudents commenting on how little work they hadto do.

However this attitudetowards the first year ofuniversity might beoffset by first-yearstudents being in abetter financial situation- a point made by anumber of students

during the qualitative interviews. While first-yearstudents might have more time to undertake paidemployment, they have less financial need.

In contrast, the number of students who work duringthe holidays is significantly affected by year of study,with final-year students being significantly less likely towork during the holidays compared to first-year andintermediate year students - see chart 44 below.

Interestingly, when these results are checked againstwhether students have dependent children, those withdependent children are significantly less likely to havepaid employment. Some 54 per cent of students withdependent children say they do not have, or intend toarrange, any form of paid employment, while only 20per cent of students without dependent children saythey don't have paid employment. This may be aresult of time pressure making it difficult to balancepaid work with studies as well as looking afterchildren.

Work taken on by students is typically unskilled,hourly-paid work such as bar work, which is viewed asa relatively sociable form of work, the shift hoursusually fall outside of teaching hours - see chart 45 onnext page. However, more than a quarter of students(27 per cent) gain employment related to theirintended career.

32


11 Student employment

“In the first year, you canpass without going tolectures.”

“All you need is a 40 percent to pass, first year is afoundation year, so itdoesn't count as much asthe third year.”

Extracts from student groupsFirst-Year BSc

Yes – duringterm time

Yes – duringholidays

No

Base: All students (2,372), First-year (622), Intermediate year (1,174), Final year (576).

Chart 44: Percentage of students workingQ87: Do you currently have any form of paid employment or intend to arrangeany in the current financial year, including the summer holidays?

All students

First-year

Intermediate year

Final year

35

34

36

33

%

51

58

56

32

22

23

23

17

When looked at by institution type, students whoattend Post-1992 institutions can be seen to besignificantly more likely to work during term time thanstudents who attend both Pre-1992 institutions andRussell Group institutions. Some 40 per cent ofstudents who attend Post-1992 institutions say theywork during term time, compared to 32 per cent ofstudents who attend Pre-1992 institutions and 30 percent of students who attend Russell Group institutions.

On average students work 14 hours a week duringterm time. However, while the majority of studentswork less than 16 hours a week, a significantproportion (29 per cent) work 17 or more hours per

week. During the holidays students work - or intend towork - much longer, averaging 29 hours a week - seechart 46 in the previous column.

11.1 Student earningsOn average students earn £6.45 per hour, which issignificantly above the development rate minimumwage of £4.60 per hour (for workers aged 18-21), andslightly above the £5.52 hourly minimum wage forworkers aged 22 years or older. Only three per cent ofstudents say that they earn less than the minimumwage. However, among this group, non-EUinternational students are significantly more likely to beearning below the minimum wage, with 11 per cent

saying that they earn less than £4.60 per hour. Ascan be seen in chart 47 above, student earnings aresignificantly affected by age, with older studentsmore likely to receive higher wages, no doubt a resultof the two-tier minimum wage framework.Interestingly, there are no significant differences whenlooking at regional student wage rates.

11.2 Motivations for workingThe most common motivations students cite forworking are: to pay for extras such as clothes andholidays (62 per cent), and to pay for socialising (62per cent). This seems to indicate that for a largeproportion of students, paid employment is optionaland geared to improving their quality of life. Havingsaid this, a large minority of students (46 per cent)


11.1 Student earnings11.2 Motivations for working

Unskilled or hourly paid work (eg ina bar, shop, cleaning, promotions)

Work related to my intended career

Work related to my career beforeI became a student

Work linked to course/part of course

Academic research/teaching/lecturing

Administration/clerical work/office work

Other

Base: All who have, or intend to have, paid employment (1,614).

Chart 45: Most common type of paid workQ90: What type(s) of paid work do you do?

70

27

11

6

3

1

5

%

0 – 8hours

9 – 16 hours

17 – 24hours

25 – 32hours

33 – 40hours

more than40 hours

Base: Q88 All working during term time (830), Q89 All working/planning to work during holidays (1,199).

Chart 46: Holiday versus term time workQ88: How many hours a week do you work during term time?Q89: How many hours a week do you intend to work during the holidays?

24

3

47

2119

5

19

35

21

1212

%

All work duringterm time

All workduring holidays

3 3 3 32

Total18192021+

Chart 47: Student earnings by ageQ91: Approximately how much do you get paid per hour?

Base: All who have, or intend to have, paid employment (1,614), 18 (49*), 19 (286), 20 (394), 21+ (882). *small base

Less than£4.60

£4.60 to£5.74

£5.75 to£6.89

£6.90 to£8.04

£8.05 to£9.19

£9.20 ormore

Don’t know

%3

4 4 4 4555

6688

0

97

14 141212

18

27

3133

3536 36

37

41

4546

are still reliant on paid employment to fund their basicliving expenses, with 36 per cent relying on paid workto pay for books and other study aids - see chart 48above. Interestingly, there are no significantdifferences in motivations for working by socio-economic group.

When this is cross-referenced against the number ofhours worked during term time, a trend appearswhereby students who work more than eight hours aweek are significantly more likely to say that theirbasic living costs exceed the amount they can borrow(with the exception of those who work 17-24 hours aweek, where the difference is not significant). Inaddition, students who work more than eight hours aweek are more likely to cite paying forbooks and other study equipment as areason for working - see chart 49 above.

In addition, institution type has an effecton motivations to work. A significantlyhigher proportion of students attending aPost-1992 institution - 49 per cent - relyon work to pay for basic living costs,compared to 42 per cent of students atPre-1992 institutions, and 43 per cent atRussell Group institutions.

11.3 Impact of paid employmentThere is a fairly even split betweenstudents who feel that paid employment

has a negative impact on studying, social life andvoluntary work and those who don't - see chart 50below. Those who do not work generally feel that itwould have a detrimental effect on both academic andsocial areas of their lives - indeed for many this is areason to avoid paid employment. However, thosewho do work generally find the flexible nature of theirwork, and careful timetabling of their work andstudies, means it has little impact on either area. Infact, those who work cite its positive aspects, such asthe chance to meet new people and gain experiencefor their later careers.

34


11.3 Impact of paid employment

Chart 48: Student motivation for paid workQ92: Why do you work?


To pay for other extrassuch as clothes, holidays

My basic living costs exceed the amount Ican borrow in student loans/from the bank

I want to reduce the amount ofmoney I will owe when I graduate

To pay for books or otherequipment related to my studies

To pay for socialising,meals, drinks out, etc

To gain experience and skills

To put on my CV

I prefer not to get in to debt

I have family support

Other

%62

62

50

46

46

45

40

36

6

1

Chart 49: Longer hours worked to meet basic living costs and study itemsQ92: Why do you work?

Base: All students working during term time (830), 0 – 8 hours (196), 9 – 16 hours (394), 17 – 24 hours (174), 25 – 32 hours (40*), 33 – 40 hours (20**), 40+ hours (6**). *small base **very small base ineligible for sig. testing.

My basic living costsexceed the amount I

can borrow in studentloans/from the bank

To pay for books orother equipment

related to my studies

%

41

55

51

63

65

50

29

41

46

55

25

17

0 – 8 hours9 – 16 hours17 – 24 hours25 – 32 hours33 – 40 hours40+ hours

My paid employment is easyto combine with my studies

My paid employment during term timeimpacts negatively on my studies

My paid employment during the holidaysimpacts negatively on my studies

My paid employment has a negativeimpact on my social life

My paid employment prevents me from doing thevoluntary work/work experience I would like to do

Chart 50: Impact of paid employmentQ93: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about combining studying and paid employment?


Disagree (net) Neither agree nor disagree Agree (net)

%

39 15 42

451629

70 13 13

372140

40 22 32

A significant departure from this trend occurs whenstudents were asked whether they think paidemployment during the holidays has a negativeimpact on studies. The vast majority of students (70per cent) do not think such work has a negativeimpact on studies. This work is seen as crucial toreduce debts incurred during the academic year, andas such holidays are periods when spending isreduced and more saving occurs.

While these results do not change significantly whencross-referenced with either year of study or institutiontype, they are influenced by the number of hoursworked during term time. Unsurprisingly, students whowork longer hours are significantly less likely to saythat paid work is easy to combine with their studies,and significantly more likely to say that paidemployment has a negative impact on their studiesand social life - see charts 51 and 52 opposite.Therefore, students motivated to work because theycannot meet their basic living costs, or to pay forbooks and study equipment, are not only likely worklonger hours, but also more likely feel that working hasa negative impact on their studying and social life.

12 Post-course plans

12.1 Final-year students' post-courseplansThe most common responses, when final-yearstudents were asked about their plans after studying,were “permanent full-time employment”, identified by46 per cent of respondents, and “looking for work”,identified by 34 per cent. However, while these are themost popular responses it is a little surprising thatmore students are not planning to either look for workor enter permanent full-time employment. “Furtherstudy” was also a popular option, with over a quarterof respondents (27 per cent) planning to do this aftertheir current course. Interestingly, only six per cent ofstudents said that they have no idea what their plansare after studying.

Both gender and institution type can be seen toinfluence students' plans after studying.


12 Post-course plans

Chart 51: Hours worked and perceived ease of combining work and studyQ93: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about combining studying and paid employment?My paid employment is easy to combine with my studies.


Diagree (net)

Agree (net)

Neither agreenor disagree

%29

35

3535

3955

5547

41

5083

1617

17

191010


Chart 52: Hours worked and perceived ease of combining work and studyQ93: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about combining studying and paid employment?My paid employment is easy to combine with my studies.


Diagree (net)

Agree (net)

Neither agreenor disagree

%49

3828

2520

17

1719

2113

30

30

33

43

45

50

6349


“If you work, well, you can get in debt and have a goodtime or work and miss out on uni.”

“If you manage your time properly, it isn't a problem.”

“It's good, it's flexible, it's really good for that, I quiteenjoy it, you meet so many people.”

Extracts from student groups & interviewsFirst-Year BSc, First-Year BA

Chart 53 on the left gives a breakdown of students'post-course plans by gender. This shows that malerespondents are more likely to be planning either tolook for work or go into permanent full-timeemployment, while female respondents are more likelyto be planning further study.

Chart 54 shows that students who attend a Post-1992institution are the most likely to be planning either tolook for work after studying or to enter permanent full-time employment, with those who attend Pre-1992institutions next likely to do so, and students whoattend Russell group institutions the least likely to doso. Conversely, students who are attending Russellgroup institutions are the most likely to be consideringfurther study, with those who attend Pre-1992institutions the next likely to consider further study andstudents attending Post-1992 institutions the least likely.

12.2 Does careers advice meet needs? Some 41 per cent of final-year students say that thecareers advice provided by their university doesmeet their needs, withonly 21 per cent sayingthat it does not.

Students generallyconsider universities toprovide a good servicein terms of careeradvice. Most are awareof and willing to use theuniversity facilities, andin general they prove useful for most students whohave an idea of which career they are looking for,and aim to take the next step. Where careers advice

appears to fare less well is indealing with students who havelittle or no idea of which careerthey want to pursue afteruniversity. These students aregenerally looking for more generaladvice, providing options basedon their interests; in most casesthe careers advice facility fails to

36


12.2 Does careers advice meet needs?

Permanent full-time employment

Looking for work

Further study

Travel

Temporary employment

Unpaid voluntary work/work experience

Permanent part-time employment

Self-employment

I have no idea

OtherMaleFemale

Base: All final-year students (540), male students *243) , female students (297).

%

5142

3633

2132

1515

9

9

12

5

54

1

12

7

5

5

Chart 53: Post-course plans by genderQ94: Which of the following best describes your plans after your current course of study?

Base: All final-year students (540), Russell Group (119), Pre-1992 (136), Post-1992 (254), Other institutions (31).

Chart 54: Post-course plans by institution typeQ94: Which of the following best describes your plans after your current course of study?

Permanent full-time employment

Looking for work

Further study

Travel

Temporary employment

Unpaid voluntary work/work experience

Permanent part-time employment

Self-employment

I have no idea

Other

Russell GroupPre-1992Post-1992Other institution

%35

4154

48

2932

32

32

1818

1313

13

10

1012

126

6

66

7

4

41

1

55

3

33

3

3

39

3430

21

23

Chart 55: How far careers advice meets student needsQ95: To what extent does the advice provided by your university about careers and future study meetyour needs?

Base: All final year students (540).

1 – Does not meet my needs at all 2 3

4 – Partly meets my needs 5 6 7 – Meets my needs completely

%

Extent careers advicemeets students needs 9 5 7 28 16 16 9

“After this a bunch of usheaded down to thecareers fair for variousreasons. It turned out to bepretty useful this year as Ihave a plan of what I wantto do next summer.”

Extract from student blogSecond-Year BSc

address this need. Another particularly interestinggroup of students that is not entirely satisfied with thecareers advice facilities are the Academics. In somecases, they find the system to be too heavily biasedtowards graduate schemes, with little or no provisionfor those who want to carry on in academia. However,these students are highly self-motivated and tend toseek the information out themselves through journalsand speaking to university staff.

While these results do not appear to change muchwhen broken down by gender, they do appear to beinfluenced by institution type – see chart 56 above.Students' careers adviceneeds are most likely to bemet if they attend a RussellGroup institution, with Pre-1992 institutions next likelyto meet careers adviceneeds and Post-1992 andother institutions the leastlikely to do so.

12.3 How studentsfeel their studies haveaffected futureemployment.

There is a large difference between thenumber of students who think that theirstudies have given them the necessary skillsto enter the labour market (49 per cent) andthose who feel that their studies haveenhanced their career prospects (71 percent).

When this is looked at by subject area, abroad trend can be seen – students studyingscientific subjects or vocational degrees (eglaw, education or business) are more likely tofeel both equipped to enter the labour marketand that their studies have enhanced theircareer prospects than students studying artsor humanities subjects (particularlylanguages, historical and philosophicalstudies and creative arts and design) – seechart 58.

12.4 How have studies improvedstudents' skills?When looking at the particular skills that students feelthey have improved through their studies,independent study skills (80 per cent) andcommunication skills (74 per cent) score highest.Numeracy scores much lower, with only 41 per cent ofstudents feeling that their numeracy skills haveimproved -see the table below.

While these results are not significantly influenced byinstitution type, a number are influenced by subjectarea. Both numeracy skills and information technology


12.3 How students feel their studies have affected future employment.12.4 How have studies improved students’ skills?

Does not meetmy needs (1-3)

Partly meetsmy needs (4)

meets myneeds (5-7)

Base: All final year students (540), Russell Group (119), Pre-1992 (136), Post-1992 (254), Other institutions (31).

Chart 56: How far careers advice meets students needs, by institution typeQ95: To what extent does the advice provided by your university about careers and future study meet your needs?

Russell Group Pre-1992 Post-1992 Other institutions

12

20

24

26

31

21

30

32

50

47

33

35

%

Extent to which students feelequipped with the skills

necessary to enter the labourmarket as a result of their studies

Extent to which students feelthat their studies have enhanced

their career prospects

Chart 57: Students who feel they have market-ready skills/enhanced career prospectsQ96: Do you feel equipped with the skills necessary to enter the labour market as a result of your studies?Q97: To what extent do you feel that your studies have enhanced your career prospects?


1 - Not at all 2 3 4 - Partly 5 6 7 - Completely

%

2 2 3 18 21 24 26

5 4 7 29 17 21 11

skills are influenced by subject area – see chart 58below. Students are more likely to feel that theirnumeracy skills have improved if they are studyingeither a science subject, social studies, education orbusiness and administration. However, even in thesubject area where most students feel that theirnumeracy skills have improved, physical sciences, theproportion only reaches 57 per cent, which is stilllower than other skills (see table above).Unsurprisingly, students studying an arts orhumanities subject (particularly languages, historicaland philosophical studies and creative arts anddesign) are the least likely to feel that their numeracyskills have improved.

The number of students who feel that their informationtechnology skills have improved is less significantlyinfluenced by subject area. Perhaps not surprisingly,students studying physical sciences are the most

likely to feel that their information technology skillshave improved and students studying eitherlanguages or historical and philosophical studies areless likely to think this.

13 Overall feelings about universityLooking at the university experience as a whole, thevast majority of students (74 per cent) say that theyare enjoying it. However this is significantly affected byyear of study, ethnicity and institution type. Students intheir first year of study are significantly more likely tosay they are enjoying the experience than those ineither the final or other years. White students are alsosignificantly more likely than either black or Asianstudents to say that they are enjoying university. Inpart, this may be related to the degree to whichstudents from different ethnic background feel theirneeds are being met. As highlighted in section 5, thisis also influenced by ethnicity and may influence levelsof enjoyment.

When looking at overall feelings split by institution typea number of differences become apparent – see chart60. However, considering the significant differences byinstitution type across a whole range of experiencesand services detailed throughout this report, it isperhaps surprising that the effect on overall enjoymentis not greater.

38


13 Overall feelings about university12.4 How have studies improved students’ skills?



Social studies

Law



Languages



Education


Students who feel equipped with the necessary skills to enter the labour marketStudents who feel that their studies have enhanced their career prospects

4969

74

79

6481

6273

6070

31

2953

3856

6178

69

52

52

%

Chart 58: Market-ready skills/enhanced career prospects by degree subjectQ96: Do you feel equipped with the skills necessary to enter the labour market as a result of your studies?Q97: To what extent do you feel that your studies have enhanced your career prospects? Medicine and life sciences


Social studies

Law


Languages



Education


Improved numeracy skills (net)Improved formation technology skills (net)

4862

62

5775

4355

14

944

18

18

38

56

5658

5856

%

Chart 59: Perceived improvements in numeracy and IT skills by degree subjectQ98: To what extent do you feel that your studies have improved your numeracy and information technology skills?

Communicationskills Numeracy

Use ofinformationtechnology

Independentstudy skills

Improved(net) 74% 41% 61% 80%

Not improved(net) 9% 34% 16% 8%

Skills improved by university studies

Students who say they are enjoying their universityexperience were asked what they enjoyed most aboutuniversity. The main theme to come out of this isuniversity social life and meeting new people,although the learning experience and course contentare also often raised. There are no significantdifferences between different institution types.

In addition, students who say that they are notenjoying their university experience, were then askedwhy this was the case. Two main themes emergedfrom this. Firstly, concerns about the quality ofteaching and the lack of supportfrom tutors, though this is notsignificantly influenced byinstitution type. Secondly,concerns about the cost ofuniversity and the level of debtthat students get into. Thisindicates that finance is not just aconcern for students from lowersocio-economic groups, but forall students.

When asked how pleased theyare that they had decided to goto university, the vast majority ofstudents (85 per cent) say theyare pleased, and most of these(56 per cent) saying that they are

extremely pleased. When this is split by institution typethere are some differences, but the overall trend ismaintained – see chart 61.

Finally, when students were asked how they wouldallocate funding to improve different aspects of theiruniversity three areas were favoured: teaching, whichincluded more contact hours and a wider rangeof/better qualified lecturers; learning facilities andstudent finance – see chart 62. This would seem toreiterate two of the key concerns of students: teachingand finance.


13 Overall feelings about university

%

75

79

71

73

16

14

19

17

7

6

10

10


Enjoying (net)

Not enjoying (net)

Enjoying itsomewhat

Chart 60: Overall enjoyment by institution typeQ100: Taking in to consideration all aspects of your University experience to date, how much are you enjoying it?


%

86

10

10

12

9

3

2

6

4

86

88

81


Pleased (net)

Not pleased (net)

Somewhat pleased

Chart 61: Happiness with decision to go to university, by institution typeQ103: Overall how pleased are you that you decided to go to university?


Chart 62: Allocation of university fundingQ104: Please imagine you have a pot of money to use to improve your university. How would you allocate it? Please indicate what % you would allocate to each area/aspect of your university?


Teaching Accommodation Learning facilities Other facilities/resources

Student Welfare Crime prevention Student finance Other Staff pay

Total

Russell Group

Pre-1992

Post-1992

Other institution

%

21 11 16 12 8 6 18 7

23 13 14 11 8 6 18 7

21 12 16 12 9 6 17 7

21 10 16 12 9 7 19 7

19 11 20 13 8 5 18 7

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Documents

NUS Student Experience Report - National Union of … Student Experience Report 2008 Funded and conducted in association with: NUS Introduction Welcome to the first NUS Student Experience